The Kingdom's Border?
The Northern Region of Unova?
Lucien was momentarily taken aback.
According to his memory, both Lacunosa Town and the Giant Chasm were located in the northeastern part of Unova.
Did that mean they weren't actually far from the Giant Chasm right now?
"I also heard from the villagers there that every so often, traveling merchants from other regions visit," Ivan added. "They bring foreign goods and local specialties to trade."
Lucien nodded thoughtfully.
If that was the case, perhaps they could also trade with that village. Those traveling merchants must have seen a great deal of the world; maybe they could even provide information about Lacunosa Town.
Still, there were more pressing matters at hand.
Lucien turned his gaze to Geralt, the man strong enough to defeat an entire Haxorus pack with human strength alone.
"Geralt, I have a mission for you," Lucien said.
"At your command, Your Highness," Geralt replied.
"Go to the mines and protect the miners. They need to dig deeper and extract more ore," Lucien instructed.
"Yes, Your Highness!" Geralt saluted with a knight's precision.
"Elif," Lucien turned to his butler, "assign work to the new arrivals. Have them help with mining, logging, or gathering berries in the wild. We must accelerate construction."
"Yes, Your Highness," the old butler replied quietly.
"Teacher, what about us?" Anna asked eagerly, clutching Zorua in her arms.
She was certain they'd be given a new task as well.
"How's Zorua's combat training going?" Lucien asked.
Anna puffed up proudly. "All the Gravelers on the mountain? Defeated!"
While stationed at the mine to protect the workers, Anna had spent her downtime commanding Zorua in mock battles against the wild Gravelers living nearby, and together, they'd driven every last one of them out.
Lucien blinked. "Impressive. You and Zorua have grown fast."
"In that case," he continued, "I do have a new task for you."
"Understood! I'll complete it without fail!" Anna straightened her back, brimming with determination.
"I haven't even told you what it is yet…" Lucien said helplessly.
He flipped open Christina's Pokémon habitat journal and turned to a page marked with two drawings of small, bee-like creatures.
"I need you and Zorua to make contact with this species."
Anna looked down and read aloud the names written beneath the sketches.
"Combee… and Vespiquen?"
Lucien nodded. "That's right. They're hive Pokémon. The Vespiquen serves as the queen, commanding all the Combee in the colony, much like a human monarch and her loyal soldiers."
Anna's eyes widened. "Teacher, do you mean we're supposed to defeat them?"
Of course, this must be another trial, she thought, her eyes lighting up.
"No." Lucien sighed. "Not defeat. I want you to befriend them. Build trust."
"Eh?" Anna blinked in surprise.
"Combee are adept at brewing flower nectar into rich, golden honey. If we can invite them into the territory, we'll be able to produce honey ourselves," Lucien explained patiently.
Without a Vespiquen, Combee are small and timid Pokémon, easy prey in the wild. In forests, they're often bullied by greedy Beautifly, who drive them away to steal their nectar.
Even Teddiursa and Ursaring frequently raid their hives for honey, while Mothim sneak in at night to steal from the sleeping Combee.
When Anna heard this, understanding dawned on her face.
"Build good relations, invite the Combee and Vespiquen into the territory!"
Anna clenched her fists in excitement. She could definitely do this!
"Everyone, I'm counting on you," Lucien said to the group.
With their orders issued, Geralt and the others turned to leave, each heading off to carry out their tasks.
The vast lord's hall soon fell silent.
Lucien leaned back in his chair and let out a deep breath.
Construction, gathering, logging, mining…
Now that the population had grown enough, all these projects could finally progress at once.
But that still wasn't enough.
In addition to firing bricks, they also needed to make glass.
After all, what proper home could be complete without bright, beautiful glass windows?
Thinking this, Lucien reopened the territory panel and began scrolling through the list of citizens, hoping to find someone with the right technical skills.
That way, he wouldn't have to spend precious satisfaction points to unlock the required technology, a crucial saving during the early stages of settlement.
However, while he didn't find any skilled craftsmen, two unfamiliar Pokémon names caught his eye.
Machoke.
Lucien blinked in surprise. 'Machoke? When did they arrive?'
He quickly tapped on the names and examined their details.
Pokémon: Machoke
Type: Fighting
Gender: Male
Ability: No Guard
Moves: Karate Chop, Leer, Low Kick, Focus Energy, Sweep, Seismic Toss
Friendship: 0
Record of Life:
Year 145 of the Royal Calendar, Machop was born.
Year 146, Captured by humans, chained, and forced into hard labor.
Year 147, After long periods of backbreaking work, Machop evolved into Machoke. Years of oppression broke its spirit; even after evolving, its life of servitude did not change.
Year 148, Assigned to accompany the Third Prince, Lucien, to his new fiefdom.
Machoke…
Lucien's mind immediately pictured the Pokémon, the Muscle Pokémon, strong and solidly built, a symbol of raw strength and endurance.
In the modern world, Machoke and its evolution, Machamp, were known as the tireless workers of construction sites and moving companies.
Whether carrying heavy furniture, hauling stone, or operating cement carts, they excelled at physical labor.
And now, there were two of them in his territory.
With their help, the construction progress could advance even faster.
After all, there was no Pokémon in the entire territory more suited for carrying bricks than Machoke.
Still, having endured years of exploitation, Lucien wondered what state they might be in now.
After a brief moment of thought, Lucien decided to find them personally and see for himself.
...
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